Keepers of the Kalachakra - book review

Keepers of the Kalachakra
by Ashwin Sanghi
420 pages, Westland
Genre: Thriller

Leaders and people holding important positions in governments die  across the world in a mysteriously similar manner. No one understands how this is happening. Simultaneously sinkholes are appearing world wide killing ordinary people. One secret organization appears to be responsible for it as they believe in eliminating liberals and promoting right wingers while  working in tandem with an a Islamic fundamentalist who is the fountainhead of  spreading radical Islam worldwide. Both believe the clash of civilizations is inevitable and has to be hastened Can they be stopped ? Ashwin Sanghi asks and answers these questions in his novel, Keepers of the Kalachakra.

Zigzagging from the lawns of the Whitehouse US to mysterious labs in India, from  Russian secret service  to facilities in China, Sanghi begins well. Once inside the secret lab facility and in trying to explain the Tibetan Book of the Dead, he loses pace. He picks it up again with action sequences but frankly it is a bit disappointing when he tries to explain Hindu and Buddhist philosophy as well as Christian, Jewish and Islamic history as it stretches the reader's patience as so much info is dropped in, especially in the middle of an action sequence.

All said and done, the ending will leave you stunned if you read the book completely. I will say a brisk beginning, intriguing center that slowly drops into a winding read and a fast and stunning end that will leave people wondering if this is what is really happening as it is too close to actual political events.

Don't include all your research Mr. Sanghi in your books. Fascinating as it is, it slows down the thriller.

If you wish to buy the book, go here  Click to buy it from Amazon

The Mahabharata Secret
by
Christopher Doyle
Genre: Fiction - Historical Thriller.
386 Pages, Om Books International.
Available in Different formats.


Most readers of my blog may be aware of the Indian epic,  Mahabharata. It is like 1000 stories in one, all inter connected and in which Bhagavad Gita is a part - the philosophical treatise which most Indians know about but do not follow. But then, this is India, so you cannot expect anything else!  So, what is the secret ? That is what I thought when I began this book. But I never expected Emperor Ashoka to make his appearance in the first few pages or that it would be a fast paced terrorist thriller that takes us through little known parts of India especially Bihar. I mean Rajasthan and Delhi where the author lives was okay but Bihar?

This book does two things. It flits back and fro through history, from Emperor Ashoka's times to the present and in between. It flits across South Asia and then inside India but more importantly, it reminds most people of South Asia about the Buddhist past of the region which lasted for around 2000 years, which is never taught in schools as if it never existed at all.

From the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan to the ramparts of Rajasthani forts, from scientists turned terrorists of the Lakshar -e- Taiba to the hunting for clues in Ashoka pillars in Bihar, the author masterfully weaves a story of intrigue, action, puzzles and reminders of the buried past.

I purposely read it in bits because I wanted to savour the feeling of eating a delicious meal  multiple times. The style is crisp and the tone is clear.The ending didn't leave me sated but Christopher Doyle, thank you for a much needed historical thriller.

To think this debut novel in 2013 has received so little attention was shocking.


If you feel I had still not told you what the secret is, I ask you to read the book. Buy it here


© Deepa Kandaswamy, All rights reserved.